


Trust

by TheycallmeGabriel



Series: Guardians [4]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, I forgot how, M/M, domestic stuff, i cant tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 08:26:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13994370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheycallmeGabriel/pseuds/TheycallmeGabriel
Summary: Gabriel and Castiel narrowly saved the life of a friend, at the cost of revealing their identies. Charlie decides to take a leap.





	Trust

Charlie clutched weakly at Dean's grip, watching as Castiel and Sam spoke to one of the EMT on the scene. What they were speaking about, who knows. With a hard swallow, her eyes scanned the scene, catching sight of Gabriel's form, red and blue lights dancing across his face. An officer jotted down in her small notebook, nodding along to Gabriel's story. The blood on the archangel's hands were gone, as well as Castiel's torn, blackened sleeves.  
Sam shuffled his way back over to Charlie and Dean, hands stuffed in his pockets. Slowly, he opened his mouth to speak, quickly shutting it again.  
"He's-uh.. He's going to be alright." Sam murmured, gesturing to the ambulance pulling away from the curb, sirens echoing in the empty streets.  
"He had a lot to drink. I'd be surprised if he remembers leaving wherever he was tonight."  
At that, Dean gave a low growl.  
"The son of a bitch could've killed Charlie. If Gabriel and Cas weren't here-"  
"But they were. And Charlie _didn't_ get killed." Sam cut his elder brother off, voice gentle and pleading. The last thing they need is for Dean to lose his cool.

"If who wasn't here?" Piped a curious voice.  
The brothers snapped their gazes to a small officer, their expressions giving away their suprise. Neither of them heard the young man approach, yet here he was, fixing the light of his flashlight onto the trio. 'Garth', read the nametag pinned to his clearly too-large uniform.  
"If who wasn't here?" Garth repeated, gaze expectant.  
"Our friend Gabriel, over there. He- Um, pulled our friend out of the way. That's when the man crashed into the pole." Sam's response was quick and Dean let out a breath he hadn't known he had held in. Charlie felt as if she was about to pass out.  
"That so?" The officer hummed his approval "well, why don't we get you to an EMT for a once over? I'll get the both of your statements at the ambulance. Sound good?" He chirped cheerfully, sweeping his hand in the direction of the waiting EMT.  
Gently, Dean brought Charlie to her feet, murmuring reassurance to the red head as they slowly made their way away from the sidewalk. Garth made a beeline for his partner chatting with Gabriel, giving a nod as he handed her his notebook. Gabriel peeked over at his charge, sporting a rather bored yet appraising look.  
Their stories matched up, which put the officers at ease. They still had questions, however, and for some odd reason loved asking Gabriel for the answers. Gabriel, on the other hand, wasn't exactly enjoying the attention of, as he would call them, 'the party poopers'.  
At this, Sam couldn't help but give a small smile. Leave it up to Gabriel to manage to make him smile in a situation like this.  
Castiel strode over to the youngest Winchester, eyes fixed on Dean the whole while.  
"I'm glad Charlie is okay..." Castiel sighed, gaze now falling onto Sam "... However, the situation is dire. If.. Charlie tells anyone it will put _all_ of us in danger. The enemies of Heaven aren't above using an innocent to help further their agenda." The angel finished, crossing both arms in front of his chest.  
"What are we gonna do, Cas?" Sam's voice was quiet and thoughtful.  
"It's far too late for us to wipe her memories. There are already too many humans who are aware that an accident had happened tonight. They know our faces. They know Charlie's face. If another were to bring up what had happened after we had already wiped her memories.." As if they heard Castiel speak, Sam begun to notice people gathering on their porches, curiosity of what's happening outside of their doors getting the better of them. The whole street was watching, their gazes piercing.  
"... There's no easy fix to this, is there?" The young Winchester mumbled, attempting to curl in on himself to shield the neighborhood's sharp eyes.  
"I'm afraid not, Sam. Not this time. The first thing we need to do, however, is make sure Charlie is going to be okay. For us to work something out, we have to make sure her faith in us hasn't wavered."

After giving Charlie, Dean, and Gabriel a once-over on their physical well being and statements were taking, the group were giving the go-ahead to head back home. The walk back to the vehicles had been spent in silence. Even Gabriel had nothing to say, opting instead to send meaningful glances in Sam's direction. Castiel's eyebrows were drawn close together, clearly thinking of ways to help their predictiment. Occastionally, he'd shoot Charlie and Dean a worrying expression at the back of their heads. Dean strode on, choosing to match Charlie's pace ahead of the rest of the group. Charlie had always seemed more comfortable around Dean despite the fact that her and Gabriel were always around one another.  
Despite this, Charlie was sticking to the far opposite edge of the sidewalk, clearly puting distance between herself and the rest of the group, fingers ghosting over her now uninjured arm. Black fabric that was once torn and bloodied, long mended. There was no evidence that there had ever been a wound, which had only put the young red head on edge. Logically, Charlie knew that Gabriel hadn't meant to hurt her. At least, she hoped he hadn't meant to do it. Everytime she closed her eyes, the scene replayed. Gabriel gripping her arm, shoving her back behind him onto the hard asphalt. The pain wasn't immedate until bone ripped through soft skin and tissue. The bones snapped under the pressure of the archangel's grip, the fall onto the damp road caused the already splintered bones to jut out, tearing through flesh and cloth alike. If she was being completely honest, she was terrified to turn around, knowing that Gabriel was behind her. Memories flooded her, memories of movie marathons and snack runs bubbled to the forefront of her mind. Gabriel had always been so nice to her, why would he want to hurt her? It was war between instinct and personal knowledge. Instinct was telling her that she was in danger. That Gabriel was dangerous, murderous. However, Charlie knows that wasn't true. Gabriel had only ever been kind and friendly to her. They did so much stuff together. He put his well-being on the line to save her life. Was he in any actual danger, though? He caught a fucking _truck_ in _midair_. Something tells Charlie that, no, Gabriel more than likely was never in danger at all through the entire ordeal. No human in the history of humanity has ever been recorded snatching an airborn vehicle, let alone a _truck_ , barrelling towards them at that speed. Not to mention the whole _healing_ thing. One second there was a gaping hole in her arm, then the next? Poof. Nothing. No blood, no pain, no evidence. Anyone with a brain could come to the conclusion that Gabriel wasn't human.  
Then there's Castiel. He tried stopping the truck first, after all. An image of Castiel's outstretched arms torn and blackened fluttered to Charlie's mind. The truck went airborn because of Castiel in the first place. The truck must not have been able to handle such a hard, abrupt stop. Which would mean that Castiel essentially had enough strength to hold his ground whilst a speeding truck slammed into him, then promptly _flipped_ over his head. Which meant, Castiel wasn't exactly human, either. Sam and Dean, are _they_ even human? It was all such a mess and Charlie didn't know if she should laugh or cry. You'd figure with all of the syfy and comic books she takes in every day, she'd be able to think up a conclusion, or a solution, or anything for that matter. Plenty of times she thought about speaking up, to shoo them off so that she could be at the very least, a bit at ease. Everytime she would open her mouth, nothing would come out.  
The trek appeared to last longer than it actually had. The cold autumn breezes weren't enough to clear the air of tension.  
When they came upon both vehicles, Charlie couldn't help but feel relieved to see her little bug. Something familiar and constant. She subtly quickened her pace, comforted by the thoughts of warmth and the familiar smell of her crisp cinnimon car freshener. Before she could jump in and drive away somewhere, anywhere, a gentle hand pressed over her shoulder. Charlie startled, tensing her muscles.  
"Kind of a stupid question, but I have to know.. Are you going to be alright, Charlie?" Sam's voice broke through the silence, warm and disarming.  
Charlie sucked in a breath. No, no she wasn't going to be alright. However, she knows Sam. He isn't going to like that answer, and he'll keep prodding until she cracks. ' _They live next door, you know_ ' her brain not-so helpfully supplied, a reminder that she can't exactly hide from this conversation. If Gabe and Cas can lift a truck, something tells her a front door isn't going to be much of a challenge.  
"I mean.. No. I'm not." Charlie's voice was strained, spinning on her heel to face her inquirer. Greeting her was Dean and Sam's twin expressions of worry. A confused air pushed out of her chest. She could've swore she heard more than three pairs of footsteps on the walk home. Yet, Gabriel and Cas were nowhere in sight. As if anticipating this, Sam cleared his throat, shooting a glance at Dean.  
"We told them to head home without us. Figured you'd be more comfortable talking to just the two of us." Dean gestured to himself and Sam with his hands, offering what was probably meant to be a soothing smile.  
"They were.. Just there.." Charlie's voice was small, confused.  
"Uh... Tele..Portation, is a thing." Sam flashed what she thinks was supposed to be a reassuring smile.  
"Oh my God.." Was all she managed.  
"Look, Charlie..." Dean's sentence was cut short, the woman opting to speak over him.  
"... How do I know you guys aren't going to, like, I don't know- Break my other arm?" Charlie meant to come off as harsh but her voice betrayed what she was feeling; scared.  
Sam still flinched. He felt bad, and Charlie could see that on his face. Those dejected puppy eyes told her everything. Her gaze softened. She didn't get the same eerie feeling from Sam and Dean that she had gotten from Gabriel on the walk. Instinct told her that she shouldn't have to be too guarded.  
"... He caught a _truck!_ " She spit out incredulously, tangling her fingers into her hair.  
"I know." A small smile tugged at the corners of Sam's lips, watching the red head carefully.  
"How... Did he catch a truck? How did Cas _flip_ a truck? How did they do that? Then my.. Gabriel he just grabbed my arm and it- It just _snapped_. And then the glow-y heal-y thing?- I don't-" At this point she was bordering on hysteric, arms gesturing wildly. Sam's expression twisted with sympathy and determination as he gently grabbed one of her hands.  
"Look, Charlie. Come with us back to our house. We'll... Explain everything. I don't think it's smart to talk about this stuff right here. I know you're scared, but Gabriel- He didn't mean to hurt you. I promise you that. They- They don't want you to be scared of them. They don't want to hurt you." Sam's eyes found hers, expression gentle and coaxing.  
"I know you don't have any reason to, but I'm asking you to just trust us. _Please_ , Charlie."  
There goes the damn puppy eyes again. How it works on her, she has no idea. Then, a sudden thought. Before she could stop it, her mouth started moving.  
"You've stuck your dick in something that catches trucks from midair. Can you catch super strength like an STD?" She couldn't help but blurt out, watching Sam's puppy face melt, giving way to what she can only assume was horrified embarrassment.  
Dean lost it almost immedately. The eldest Winchest double over, his hysterical laughter filling the streets. Sam's face flushed deep crimson, wrapping his arms over his chest.  
" _No!_ It does-it doesn't work like that!"  
A chunk of Charlie's fear melted away at that, replaced by both modest and morbid curriosity.  
A bit of tension from both of the brother's shoulders faded away. If she was joking around, that meant she was going to give them a chance.

The drive was nerve-wracking. After all, Gabriel and Castiel were going to be there. Sam, of course, gave her an out. The conversation would be had on the porch. That way, if she felt scared, she was a few feet from her car. Charlie doubted highly that she would honestly be able to get away since, apparently, teleporting is a thing that exists. However, the gesture itself was still appreciated. It did ease her a bit to know that they were trying to make sure she felt even a little in control of the situation.  
Charlie pulled in to her driveway, killing the engine. She took a few seconds to compose herself as she watched Dean alone disappear inside. Not another moment later, Gabriel stepped out of the house, plopping onto the steps beside Sam.  
She watched, rapt, as Gabriel ran a hand through his caramel locks, turning his attention to Sam. He looked exhausted.  
They appeared to speak for a moment before Sam turned to curl their fingers together, pressing his lips onto the other's head. Despite herself, Charlie couldn't help but give an endearing smile as Gabriel brought Sam's hand to his lips.  
She always used to think they made such a good couple. _'They're still a good couple'_ '. she thought to herself as she finally stepped out of the car, bringing the attention of the pair. It was then that Castiel and Dean stepped out onto the stoop as well.  
Charlie shut the door, cutting through the other's grass. After making it, she felt confident enough to speak first.  
"So... This whole thing is fucked." Was what she managed to spit out, body betraying her by letting out a nervous chuckle.  
Both of the couple's expressions took a gloomy turn. The looked almost.. Scolded. Which Charlie admits made her feel a little better. They at least look like they feel bad. Seeing the expression on Gabriel's face was odd. She's never really seen him look guilty before. There have been hundreds of times that Gabriel was guilty of doing something, whether good or questionable. Even so, she's never actually seen him feel bad about doing something.  
Instinct told her she was in danger. She didn't exactly feel like she was anymore.  
She almost died. _Almost_. Not the same as _did_. After all, it was Gabe and Cas who saved her life. Might as well hear them out. She can do that much, at least.  
"Super strength and teleportation. Is that.. All you can do? Or are you holding out on me?" Charlie flashed an easy smile, slowly planting herself on the bottom step.  
Almost immediately, the air changed. Castiel gave a surprisingly endearing smile, placing a hand on Dean's now-relaxed shoulders.  
Sam looked beyond relieved, turning his attention over to Gabriel who had his fingers ready, poised to snap. A shit-eating grin spread across his lips. Oh fuck.  
"Wanna see me piss Dean off without moving from this spot?"  
That caught Dean's attention.  
"...Wait, _what_?"

**Author's Note:**

> I'm very bad at updating. It's hard to get me to eat on a good day, let alone write. I hope you'll forgive me.


End file.
